brown key, code card 600quid help?????????

[peter frost]

I live in hungary and have an aprox 5 year
old Bravo 1.6. For the last two years its run
no problem. I park it for 5 mins and try to restart
,lots of petrol, no battery problem..the engine turns over but no ignition. Its a dry day so I thought
maybe a max 50 quid petrol pump, plug or coil problem.

F...ing very wrong...the local fiat dealership tells
me i need a new "computer control unit" after asking
for the brown key and key code card. total cost
aprox 600 pounds.

Am I being ripped off? what is the solution? any
suggestions appreciated as I need to give the go ahead tomorrow (tues)

Thanks

peter

 

[Nareman]

Brown Key

Whatever you do, don't go ahead with it tomorrow (tues.)

There shouldn't be a problem. As long as you stil have the red key (do you ?)

Try to disconnect the battery and leave it for ten minutes then reconnect it and try starting the car again.

If that doesn't work, disconnect just the negative terminal for a few minutes and then reconnect it and try starting the car again.

It sounds like there isn't actually a problem that require the ECU to be replaced, but it may just need to reset itself.

I used to have an Alfa 155 with the same system and I had the same problem.

Whatever you do, please don't end up paying £600 ! As long as you have all of the keys that came with the car (inc the red key - well, it's actually 'maroon' in colour) you should be ok.

Nareman.

PS - whereabouts in Turkey are you? I went skiing about 4 weeks ago to a resort in Bursa. It was beautiful !

 

[Nick]

Brown key==Red key

When your dealer talks about the brown key, I suspect he means the red key. If you have lost your red (brown) key and you need a new ECU, then it will come to about £600-800 as not only does the ECU need changing, but also the CODE unit and all the locks. But first check. When you put your key in, does the CODE light go out or stay on? If it stays on then the system is not recognising the code in the key. This could be down to the key, CODE unit or ECU. Try another key (you have two?). If you still have a problem then firstly check the fuses, then the connections between the various components should be checked for corrosion. The you are looking at replacing units. If you have the red key then you should be able to replace the ECUs individually. If you don't have the red key then you will have to replace the lot and keep the new red key safe!